Slush has become one of the leading startup events in Europe. What began as a humble student-led gathering now attracts more than 10,000 people, hundreds of startups, investors and journalists from across the world.

Last year, investment firm Atomico released its first State of European Tech report to coincide with Slush 2015 and the company has now published its larger, more comprehensive sequel.

The joint venture calls the report a "useful, credible, and transparent data-driven look inside the European tech ecosystem," and it is based on data from partners including LinkedIn, Meetup, Stack Overflow, Dealroom.co, the London Stock Exchange.

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This data is bolstered by survey results from questionnaires and interviews conducted with thought leaders, founders, investors, employees and influencers. The full report is available here, but we have also taken a deeper look into some of the emerging trends.

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Overall, tech hubs are growing in places such as London, Paris, Berlin and Stockholm – as is to be expected – but the report also finds European entrepreneurs are cropping up across the continent.

In WIRED's top 100 startups list, Lisbon was featured for the first time. And the report shows that Paris is challenging the primacy of London and Berlin in VC capital invested and deal volume, with growth also being seen in Munich and Copenhagen.

Half of the top 10 computer science institutions are in Europe, with ETH in Zurich leading the way. Others include UCL in London, Edinburgh and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

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The report also shows that Europe has more developers than thought, and they are becoming more engaged in entrepreneurship. Data from Stack Overflow Insights shows there are more professional developers in Europe (4.7 million) than in the US (4.1m) despite the general consensus assuming it is the opposite.

Europe is becoming an acquisition capital

Recently, the report reveals that investments and deals have slowed in the latest quarter, but over the course of the year figures are up year-on-year. This is, in part, thanks to record-breaking deals including Softbank's $32 billion acquisition of ARM, Tencent buying Supercell for more than $10 billion (making the Helsinki-based game maker Europe's first privately-owned decacorn), and Qualcomm's $47 billion deal with NXP Semiconductors.

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2016 also saw the first $100 billion valuation for a European company for SAP. Over the past 12 months, European deep tech has reached $88 billion.

"All of this would be good in any kind of year, but for it to happen in 2016 – let's all agree it hasn't been any ordinary year – is particularly impressive," said Mattias Ljungman, co-founder and partner of Atomico and Slush CEO, Marianne Vikkula.

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"While Brexit hasn't happened yet, the vote itself and the uncertainty it has unleashed looms over many a conversation in European tech. Still, entrepreneurs are taking it in their stride, optimistic, and making the necessary plans they need. Meetup shows us that there's been a big boost in related networking events in Bucharest, Lisbon and Prague."

Elsewhere, the Slush report shows that two-thirds of Europe’s largest corporates have made a direct investment in tech companies while one-third has acquired a tech company since 2015 – and this includes firms which aren't traditionally tech-based such as retailers and automakers.

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"This shows an awakening that’s going to have, hopefully, meaningful impact on the trajectory of traditional European enterprise, the tech ecosystem overall, and Europe’s economy as a whole," continued the report. "If these slumbering giants can get their innovation engines roaring – melding their centuries of experience, massive troves of data, and huge customer base – the rest of the world could be in for a surprise."